This paper attempts to estimate the size and distribution of tax evasion in rich countries. We combine random audits - the key source used to study tax evasion so far- with new micro-data leaked from large offshore financial institutions - HSBC Switzerland ("Swiss leaks") and Mossack Fonseca...

Drawing on newly published macroeconomic statistics, this paper estimates the amount of household wealth owned by each country in offshore tax havens. The equivalent of 10% of world GDP is held in tax havens globally, but this average masks a great deal of heterogeneity - from a few percent of...

Offshore tax havens cause large losses of government revenue by facilitating tax evasion by wealthy individuals. This paper focuses on offshore tax evasion in developing countries and documents two empirical regularities. First, there is no clear development gradient in the exposure to offshore...

Trotz internationaler Reformen mit dem Ziel, grenzüberschreitende Steuerhinterziehungsaktivitäten einzudämmen, ist die Bedeutung globaler Offshore-Finanzvermögen von 2001 bis 2021 relativ konstant geblieben: Gemessen an der globalen Wirtschaftsleistung schwanken sie um etwa zehn Prozent....

Trotz internationaler Reformen mit dem Ziel, grenzüberschreitende Steuerhinterziehungsaktivitäten einzudämmen, ist die Bedeutung globaler Offshore-Finanzvermögen von 2001 bis 2021 relativ konstant geblieben: Gemessen an der globalen Wirtschaftsleistung schwanken sie um etwa zehn Prozent....

This paper documents that tax havens play a prominent role in international service trade and investigates the nature of this role. We employ a firm-level dataset with detailed information about service trade and foreign affiliates for virtually all multinational firms in Germany, which allows...

Bank deposits in jurisdictions with banking secrecy constitute an effective tool to evade taxes on interest income. A recent EU reform reduces the scope for this type of tax evasion by introducing a source tax on interest income earned by EU residents in Switzerland and several other...